Just as I feared, the month of December pretty much flew by. I had grand plans of updating my page, telling you all about our holiday activities. Teaching, report cards, and piñata-making took control of my life. I am writing this just before our holiday break. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and have some special time with family and friends. This time of year is perfect for creating happy family memories that will last a lifetime. If you are reading this after the holidays, then Happy New Year! It has, indeed, been a busy time in the classroom. Our piñata party was a great success! A good time was had by all. Thank you, parents, for all the support you provided during that special time in your child’s second grade year. Besides all of the holiday activities we did, we are just about done with all of the literature circle groups. I plan to start new ones in a bit. In math we continue to work on addition facts, including combinations that make 10, doubles, plus 1, plus 2, and near doubles. I appreciate any and all efforts that go into practicing these facts at home. It really does make a difference. We recently completed a geometry unit and are currently working in the third unit out of nine that involves lots of work developing an understanding of numerical relationships and establishing that important foundation for understanding place value. We will be doing more story problems, involving both addition and subtraction. I hope the student handbooks that I send home have been helpful to you. They are meant to be a way for parent and child to discuss what is going on in class. We are now learning about Mexico, including its culture, history, and geography. We will also be learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. this month. In science, a unit on the three states of matter is getting underway. This will involve lots of investigations in small groups, and lots of related discussions! It’s shaping up to be a busy winter here in second grade. With FAST and skating taking place, we will be tweaking our regular schedule at times to allow for all these important activities to take place. Our day for skating this year is on Tuesday, starting January 5th, leaving here by bus at 12:15 and returning by approximately 1:15. We will have a half hour of ice time, from 12:30 to 1:00. Parents are welcome to meet us there and help with skate tying and enjoying some ice time with their children. Thank you for helping your child to complete reading logs. Keep up the good work! The more they read, the stronger their developing skills become! Please encourage your child to be a good messenger between home and school. I do send notices home from time to time, as well as homework assignments, so getting into the habit of checking backpacks would help to ensure that these are received.